Recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident can be difficult if you have pre-existing medical conditions that were made worse in the accident. In some cases, your pre-existing conditions could make you more likely to suffer a serious injury after even a minor car accident. People with pre-existing medical conditions or injuries may worry that they will receive less compensation from the insurance company if they are injured in a car accident, even if they are not at fault.
A pre-existing medical condition or injury is a condition or injury that predated the accident. It could be a medical condition or injury that the person has suffered for a week or for years before the accident; as long as the condition existed before the accident, it is a pre-existing condition.
While it is true that pre-existing conditions can affect a person’s insurance claim following an accident, it does not mean that the person is barred from getting any compensation at all. In Florida, an injured person can make a claim for a permanent aggravation of a pre-existing condition caused in a car accident. In some cases, the permanent aggravation of a pre-existing condition may mean that the injured person is entitled to a higher amount of compensation.
An at-fault driver who is sued by an injured person after a car accident cannot refuse to pay a claim simply because the injured person had a pre-existing condition. This is the case even if the injured person’s injuries were made worse because of the pre-existing condition; for example, if a person has brittle bones, and because of this, in an accident the person suffers more injuries than another person without the condition would have.
However, this does not mean that insurance companies do not try to defeat the claim by claiming that the injuries the company suffers are not as a result of the accident, but are rather the result of the old condition. Therefore, when a person with a pre-existing condition is injured in a car accident, it is important to speak to an experienced car accident attorney to make sure that the insurance company is not improperly denying a claim or seeking to settle it for much less than should be paid.
When there is a question about what role pre-existing conditions may have played in causing an accident or the injuries suffered, causation becomes the major focus of the claim for compensation. In some situations, the injured person may have to be examined by a doctor hired by the insurance company. In addition, the injured person’s medical history may need to be presented to the court to show the nature of the pre-existing condition.
Contact an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer
If you suffered serious injuries following a car accident, and you have a pre-existing condition that may have been made worse as a result of the accident, you may be able to receive compensation to help you cover the cost of the medical bills and your long term care. For more information, contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Vocelle & Berg, LLP, in Vero Beach, Florida for a free consultation.
Resource:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4901911826748179881&q=eggshell+plaintiff&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10